CHAPTER 91 — A HELPING HAND
The farther north they walked, the heavier the silence became.
No Man's Land wasn't a place written on maps or celebrated in stories.
It was whispered about… pitied… feared.
A place people avoided unless desperation pushed them into the wasteland.
Moro and his squad stepped forward anyway.
Even if the air itself felt too heavy to breathe.
---
When they first crossed the cracked border stone, the group stopped in place.
The land was grey.
Not grey like fog or a cloudy afternoon — but lifeless grey.
The soil looked tired.
Homes looked hollow.
Every corner looked as if hope had been drained out of it drop by drop over decades.
Herbet's voice trembled, "…This is… worse than any report."
Yaya covered her mouth, seeing children with thin arms, swollen eyes, and skin pale from sickness. They didn't cry. They didn't scream.
They were too used to pain to react anymore.
Even Kaya, who rarely expressed fear, whispered, "…This is heartbreaking."
Moro clenched his fists.
His heart throbbed painfully as he took in the scene — little huts made of rotting wood, smoke from dirty fires, families curled into each other for warmth, and water puddles black with contamination.
Then he exhaled sharply.
"…We're helping them. All of them."
The rest of his squad looked at him — then smiled faintly, as if they'd been waiting for that exact sentence.
Yaya nudged him lightly.
"You idiot, of course we will."
Kiro nodded.
"Wouldn't be the Godforce Discipline if we didn't."
Kaya stepped forward.
"Let's move."
Steven Hall crossed his arms with a small smirk.
"Alright then. Let's fix a broken world."
And so they split up — each one taking responsibility for a different part of the devastated land.
---
KAYA: CLEANSING THE RIVER
The river was the heart of No Man's Land — and it was dying.
The water was thick. Dark.
Barely moving.
Kaya stood by its edge, staring into the corrupted flow as wind tugged at her hair.
"This isn't just dirty," she murmured. "It's poisoned."
But she stepped forward anyway.
She planted her feet, took a deep breath, and gathered her water energy.
A soft blue aura wrapped around her body, glowing brighter with every heartbeat.
Then — she unleashed it.
The river groaned as if waking up from a nightmare.
Water lifted like a rising serpent, coiling into the air, swirling with dirt and mud.
Kaya guided it with both hands, separating the waste, pulling out the toxins, purifying everything molecule by molecule.
Her arms trembled.
Sweat slid down her cheeks.
But she pushed through.
Minutes became longer… and longer… until finally—
WHOOSH!
A burst of clean water spiraled upward and splashed back into the riverbed.
Children gasped.
Adults clamped their hands over their mouths.
The river glistened, clear as crystal, reflecting the sun like a mirror.
A little girl ran to Kaya, grabbing her skirt.
"You fixed it…! It's beautiful again!"
Kaya bent down, brushing the girl's cheek.
"You deserve clean water. Always."
---
HERBET: SAVING THE AIR
Herbet knelt on the cracked ground, pulling out a cylindrical metal device from his bag.
"This place isn't just dirty… it's hazardous. They're breathing poison."
He tapped the device twice. Panels slid open.
A low hum started as the machine floated into the air.
Herbet grinned.
"Alright. Let's see if version 3.0 works."
The gadget expanded like a metal flower and began inhaling the air.
Black, polluted gas swirled inside it, spinning violently until it broke into harmless elements.
Then the device exhaled — releasing a breeze so fresh it almost felt unreal.
Children ran under the air currents, laughing as their hair blew back.
One elderly woman took a deep breath, eyes watering.
"This…
This is the first clean air I've felt… in years."
Herbet scratched his head shyly.
"Ah… well… I'm glad. But stay close, I'm still testing stability—"
The drone exploded with a puff of harmless sparkles.
Everyone froze.
Herbet looked at it, sighed, then said,
"…It works fine. Mostly."
Kaya threw a pebble at him.
"Idiot."
---
MORO: RESTORING HOMES, RESTORING PRIDE
Moro moved across the land like a storm — but a gentle one.
He lifted broken planks, rebuilt fallen walls, removed debris from collapsed roofs, and carried supplies that weighed as much as boulders.
People stared at him in stunned silence.
One old man approached him timidly.
"Son… you don't have to work that hard…"
Moro smiled.
"You're wrong. I do."
"Why?"
"Because somebody should have helped you a long time ago."
The old man cried silently, turning away before his tears reached his wrinkles.
Moro kept working — smiling, sweating, encouraging, never slowing down.
---
YAYA: FEEDING A STARVED LAND
Yaya had raided every shop and abandoned farm on the road before reaching No Man's Land.
Now she spread her gathered supplies across a long table — fruits, bread, dried meat, vegetables, fresh water jars, spices, and little treats.
Kids crowded her immediately.
"Are those oranges??"
"Is that real bread??"
"Can I… can I please have some?"
Yaya placed her hands on her hips.
"You ALL can have some. But one at a time. And no pushing!"
She fed everyone — mothers, fathers, elders, teens, children, even stray animals.
Her smile didn't fade once.
"You're safe now," she whispered to a crying baby.
"You're safe."
---
KIRO: THE SILENT TEACHER
Kiro gathered a group of teens who seemed lost, angry, or numb.
He sat them down on the dusty ground and spoke softly — but confidently.
"You think growing up here makes you broken? It doesn't. It makes you strong."
The teens listened.
"You've survived without help. Without resources. Without guidance.
That alone makes you powerful.
But strength needs direction."
He pointed to their chests.
"Your lives don't end in No Man's Land.
They start here.
If you want to rebuild yourselves… we'll help."
One boy asked quietly, "…You mean it?"
Kiro ruffled his hair.
"Every word."
---
STEVEN HALL: BRINGING JOY WITH ICE
Steven cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, little ones, watch this."
He snapped his fingers.
Shiiiing—
Ice crystals formed in the air, assembling into animals — foxes, hawks, butterflies, lions, tiny dragons. They danced above the children, flying and circling in gleaming patterns.
The children laughed loudly — a sound this place hadn't heard in a long time.
Steven smirked, folding his arms.
"Heh. I'm not just an ice master… I'm an entertainer."
Kaya nudged him from behind.
"Show off."
"Guilty."
---
Hours passed.
Wind shifted.
The land breathed easier.
The people of No Man's Land — a community forgotten by the world — stood straighter, talked more, smiled more.
Hope was returning.
Because of a handful of travelers.
Because of one boy with an unshakable will.
---
As Moro finished rebuilding a collapsed hut, someone approached from behind.
At first, Moro thought it was a curious kid.
But when he turned—
He saw a boy with messy hair, ragged clothes, and a dark mask covering the lower half of his face.
His eyes were sharp. Alert. Too old for someone so young.
He stared directly at Moro.
"…Why?" the boy asked.
Moro blinked.
"Why what?"
"Why are you helping us?"
The boy's voice trembled — not from fear, but from confusion.
And anger.
And exhaustion.
"No one ever helps us," the boy continued, fists clenched.
"People call this place cursed. Worthless. We're ignored. Left to die.
So why…
why are you helping us like we matter?"
Moro walked close, kneeling to meet the boy's eyes.
He didn't hesitate. Not even a second.
"Because it's the right thing to do."
The boy's eyes widened behind the mask.
Moro added softly, "You don't have to earn kindness. You deserve it. You all do."
The boy looked down, shoulders shaking just slightly.
For a moment he couldn't speak, so he whispered —
"…Thank you."
Moro placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"We're not done yet.
This is just the beginning."
And somehow, in that barren wasteland…
A tiny seed of hope took root.